Sunday, 25 October 2015

Pensioners are doing alright

Hello. Blimey, it's not yet 8pm and I feel I should be going to bed. Don't like these short days, and they're going to get shorter. I shall have to get up earlier. I've done lots of little jobs today, though when I look around me I can't see any difference. Bugsys bedroom is cleaner, I've had the dyson around upstairs. I seem to be spending a lot of time cleaning endless litter boxes, and feeding dozens of cats. It's only three cats actually, plus Garcia from up the road, but it feels like they are always eating. Garcia is upstairs at the moment asleep on the pile of maps on the office desk. I'll turf him out when we go to bed. If I leave him in he does the most horrendously stinking poos during the night and I have to get up and take the litter box outside. He has a bed out the back where he has access to the garden through the cat flap.

I did a wash today, all the pet bedding and the old curtains I have down on the carpet in the bedroom. Bugsy can sometimes have little accidents, puking a hairball up, or bringing up his dinner after he has scoffed it too quickly. Such is life with a geriatric moggy.

Dinner today was a microwave meal, I couldn't be bothered to cook. It was a Quorn spag bol, reduced to 50p. To bulk it up a bit, because it didn't look enough, I added half a tin of baked beans. Saves on washing up, but I still have to wash the tray it comes in before I put it in the plastics recycling bin. .

I've made a start on tidying my crafting stash in the spare room. It's getting very messy and I can't find anything. I'm going to have to cut down on what I collect, I have far too much stuff.

I fancy some toast but I don't have any margarine or butter to put on it, forgot to get some. Never mind, lemon curd will do instead. I seem to be running out of a few things, never mind, I will eat out of the freezer for a few days. I'm finishing off the last of the wine, my treat for the weekend.

I was reading an article in The Times that pensioners have more cash than those in work. It was the Institute for Fiscal Studies which carried out this research. It says that on average pensioners have £394 a week after housing costs compared with £385 among the working age population. Blimey, I am missing out somewhere, my weekly figure is about half that. Apparently the older generation is around 2% better off than the average worker. So nobody needs to feel sorry for pensioners any more, because we are doing alright, well I am any way, even if I don't get the average pension :o)

Garcia has just come downstairs, I've put him out with a bowl of Felix food He will scoff that and probably bugger off home. This cat has two homes, we share him. Cats are not daft.

Did I tell you about this wart I have on my cheek? I went to the docs and he put some kind of liquid on it, which turned it black, he said it would drop off in a few days. Well it didn't. Now I have another appointment for Thursday with another doctor who I am told is a whiz with any skin blemishes. So. I hope Doctor Sarawhatsitthingymabob can get rid of it. Scalpel nurse, ha ha.

I think I might go to bed now, not much else to do. I can't concentrate in the evening so it's not worth starting any new projects till the morning. I will probably get a brilliant idea ten minutes after I have woken up.

16 comments:

do hope your face is OK. us outdoor types have to be careful of sun damage. Your antics with the cats make me smile. I think those averages on pensions are raised beyond what a lot of people get due to huge pensions to those in big business / financial services have received.

Hi.I'm thinning things out also and put a full box of seasonal décor items out by the curb and it was gone in a few minutes.We've had leftovers today and the rest will go in the freezer.Will cook a fresh meal tomorrow because today was busy.Empathize with the elderly pet issues you face so cheerfully.My aunt's cat Felix has taken to peeing on her duvet on her bed lately,since her granddaughter, cat and dog moved in temporarily.He's in a snit about it.Big sigh....they are what they are these little beasties.Thank you for sharing,D.

I have no pension, even though I still pay taxes back in the UK. However, I live well on what I've managed to accrue over my life, and have no idea what I spend each week; I suspect not too much. I once had a small 'thing' on the side of my face which a specialist froze; it also turned black and dropped off after about 2 weeks.

Our income will be higher as pensioners than it is now ( hubby works full time for the NHS), and with the mortgage paid off aswell we will feel like we have won the lottery. Now, we just need the government to stop moving the goalposts where state pension age is concerned, and we need to live long enough to claim it!

I read that article about Pensioners. I hope they don't use it as a basis to start cutting their benefits. I've had my official retirement date put back twice now - first it was 60, then 65 and now 66. Getting fed up with this out of touch government constantly moving the goal posts.

Precisely! I hear horror stories of the elderly eating cat food and going without heat(in Canada). Don't forget those with adult middle aged kids sponging off them. I couldsee the govt using this as justification for cutting benefits.

My first thought was "I wish...". Am finally due to get my State pension shortly (about 3 years after retiring at retirement age - of 60) and am literally counting the days. Once I have that (and the Winter Fuel Allowance - which they wont be paying me until next year...grr) I will still be on noticeably less than this average. Add that "Of course many of us haven't got housing costs - at our age we should have been able to pay off the mortgage by now" (though that's not to gainsay that quite a few of us still have housing costs - and sometimes its rent at that).

Add the fact that being a pensioner doesn't necessarily mean you are "financially straight" generally. I'm not - and anticipate I could be not far off 70 before I am completely straight at last (a lot of it being courtesy of having to spend quite a bit of savings on coping with the gap between my retirement age and revised State Pension Age)..

I don't know how pensioners who pay rent can manage, they must be able to claim some kind of benefit. It's only because I made an effort to pay my mortgage off that I don't have that worry. I will be getting the Winter Fuel Allowance, which will be a big help, and I get reduced Council Tax payments.

Regarding pensioners income. What cloud are these people living on. I do not know of any pensioner on anywear near that amount and some struggle to pay their heating and pay for food. The usual board room top managers who's inflated pensions make the figures wrong.

Well I live on a third of the income of my mother's pension that she just has for food and household items (not including any of her bills), which I have to use on bills as well. I am self employed with a low income. My sister works full time for low wages and has less than half my mothers income and also has housing considerations. My Dad was working class working for the council as a manual worker and my mum only had a tiny pension of her own due to her not working for much of her married life. She always has money left over every week. My friend who is retired after working abroad as a lecturer all her married life has a very good income, usually eats out for half of her meals, holidays at weekends many times in a year and goes on several bigger ones each year, buys expensive white goods and buys other very expensive items items without a mummer. Many pensioners own property and have no costs for this. I can quite believe that many are better off. A couple of teachers I knew also had excellent pensions and lots of savings and available income, they were extremely comfortable. Salaries used to be better and pensions much better also. Of course that will be different for more recently retired people.

Even so, the poorest pensioners are left with more than is recognised as the amount a single working person 'needs' to live on. Of course they do have needs that a younger, healthier person does not. Even so, I personally don't know any pensioners who struggle. The living wage which isn't even received by many yet, is far from being liveable. The minimum wage is laughable. The rent in London is £1,000 for small flat. The poorest people in the country live here, yet because some are obviously very wealthy they are ignored.

The poorest people in this country are the low paid working people. Without a doubt.

I know exactly how you feel about the dark short days. I too feel like going to bed really early. I get up when my husband goes to work about 6.25 but I wish I could get up earlier as I get so much more done in the mornings and the day feels soooo much longer when I do. My great-grandma used to say, regarding bedtime, that an hour before midnight was as good as two after (though I need two hours before midnight at least) and I reckon that if I get up even just half an hour earlier in the mornings then it feels like a lot more, as if half an hour is actually worth an hour. But I'm not very good at getting up really early unless I am forced into it. When my children were at home and at school I used to get up at 5.50 to make sure I got a certain amount done before they went off to school (on the school bus). I find the winter really hard, but I try and keep positive about it.

Hi Ilona. Just want to point out that the basic state pension is about £394 per 4 weeks not l week. If the Times made this simple error it will fuel peoples anger - they should correct it. We still pay the same council tax and other bills apart from the winter fuel allowance but for how much longer will we get that. Delphine

Hi Delphine. I've just checked the article, it definitely says £394 a week. There are no corrections in the two following editions.

If you divide the 394 by 4 it gives £98.50, which is probably the most basic pension. Some people qualify for extras. I get £166.20 a week, this is made up of £115.95 basic pension. I also get something called Pre 97 additional state pension of £53.62. I then get a deduction of £20.23 because I contracted out for about five years. Then I get a Post 97 additional state pension of £15.27, plus a Graduated Retirement Benefit of £1.59. I don't quite understand it all. I get a small private pension from the time I contracted out.

I don't pay full council tax. As well as the reduction for single occupancy, I get a further reduction because I have no savings, and my pension is my only income. A small emergency fund is not classed as savings. Anyone can apply for this with their council, but they have to be prepared to show all their incomings and outgoings and provide evidence to back up their claim, including bank statements. If a pensioner is really living on the breadline and struggling they should claim all the benefits they can

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